Orange Crème Caramel

The citrusy zest adds a lovely zing to the creamy custard Photo: Sai Raje

Don’t let the fancy French name fool you. A crème caramel is that good old Irani restaurant staple, caramel custard, by any other name. There’s also a South American-Spanish version of this dessert called the flan, which is sweeter and richer, made so by the addition of condensed milk.

Truth be told, crème caramel aka caramel custard is one of the simplest, yet elegant desserts to make if you are looking to wow your guests at a dinner party. It’s a soft, creamy pudding that is not overly sweet, and sits in an oozy pool of bittersweet caramel sauce. What’s not to like?

In my parents’ home, crème caramel has been that ever dependable dessert to serve friends and family on special occasions. And we are always eager to try out a slightly tweaked recipe for the dessert. A couple of days ago, me and my mother came across an orange crème caramel recipe by the noted British chef and food writer Simon Hopkinson, who hosts a popular TV show called The Good Cook.

I tweaked his recipe slightly, by using only whole eggs and totally omitting the extra egg yolks.

You can make and chill it in the fridge a day ahead too, which makes it a hassle-free party dessert. 

Orange Crème Caramel

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

3 large Valencia or Navel oranges, zest only

60 gm fine caster sugar

300 ml whole milk

3 eggs

70 gm granulated sugar

Note: Do not use Nagpur or any other Indian variety of oranges for this recipe. 

Method

Peel the zest of the oranges very gently using a sharp peeler. Make sure you leave out the white pith. Blitz the zest finely in the mixer. Add the caster fine sugar, and blitz again.

Transfer this mixture to a heavy-bottomed pan and add milk. Stir the mixture continuously over a very low flame for 10 minutes, just below simmering point. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid, and leave to infuse for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 150 degree Centigrade. Strain milk to remove the zest. One, by one, whisk eggs lightly into the strained milk.

Set a heavy-bottomed pan onto a medium flame and add in 3-4 tablespoons cold water, along with the granulated sugar. Let it caramelise to a light amber colour. Pour this caramel into four individual ramekins or custard moulds. Now pour over the milk mixture until each ramekin is 3/4^th full.

Ramekins with rich amber caramel

Place ramekins in the oven on a baking tray. Pour hot water into the tray, so that it rises up outside the ramekins, 3/4^th of the way up. Cover the ramekins loosely with an aluminium foil. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the crème caramel is set and just wobbly.

Remove from the oven and let cool. Cover and chill to set for at least two hours. To pop out on a plate, run a small knife around the inside edge of the ramekin. Gently use your fingers to pull away the custard from the ramekin wall, just enough to create an air bubble. Now, put an individual serving plate on top of the ramekin and turn it upside down.